Pride
by NovelistServant
Summary: It's Career Day at Victory's school and she chose to show Nick to her class, but when it's time to introduce him to the class, the sly fox is thrown off by what her daughter says. NOTE: I do mean to use the name Victory, not Victoria. That's her nickname and preferred name, because she is Nick and Judy's biggest victory in life.


Little Victoria stopped her bubble-gum pink alarm clock and jumped out of bed in joy. She pulled off her Princess Purrida nightgown and got dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a plain grey t-shirt. She opened the door and ran down the stairs to see her mother, Judy, in the kitchen, fixing two bowls of Honey-Nut Cheerios. Victory jumped into a chair and the bunny smiled while the coffee brewed.

"Morning, Mommy!" The 7-year-old said happily.

"Morning, Victoria." Judy said and sat in her ZPD uniform. "You excited for school today?"

The little raccoon nodded with a mouth full of milk-sweetened cereal. Today Judy had to go work alone, and she wouldn't be dropping Victory off at school. Nick would be walking her and be staying with her all day.

Nick asked for the day off and got his request. At Victoria's school, George Hippoton Elementary, her class was having a Career Day at school where parents came and the kids told their classmates what their parents did.

Judy was excited when she got the email about it and instantly said that Nick should go. Victoria loved her parents equally, but her and Nick had a special bond. It was amazing how as she got older, she reminded Judy more and more of her father.

She tailed him everywhere he went and ran to his arms first when they were reunited. She learned how to think carefully, be cunning, and pull on a face, which would help in the years to come when she wanted to be in theater.

Judy would never forget the time Victory stood up for a kid outside of school getting bullied, and actually said some pretty strong words against the bully and left her to turn away in shame. Victory then helped the kid up and finally saw her parents waiting for her in the car. When the little raccoon buckled up, Nick shifted to drive and asked with a laugh where she learned to talk like that.

"You, Daddy." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Nick almost crashed into the car in front of them.

Today, Victory was so excited to get to show her class her cool, cop Daddy! She ate her cereal quickly until Judy scolded her gently as she poured some coffee into a little peach-colored mug with a carrot on it.

"Slow down, Victoria!" Judy chuckled. "You don't have to be there for another hour!"

'When'll Daddy get up?" Her daughter asked in between bites.

"You know how your father is." Judy said with a roll of her lavender eyes. "He's a Night Owl. He's not like Momma where he's up at 5:30 every morning."

Victoria cringed at being up so early and they both laughed. It carried all the way up the stairs to Nick and Judy's shared bedroom and it awoke him. He found himself smiling before he opened his green eyes and saw that his alarm clock wasn't supposed to ring for another half hour. Oh well, waking up to hear his girls laugh was way better than the obnoxious beep, beep, beep of a robot.

He grabbed his cPhone and scrolled through a bit to wake up before taking off his light-green boxers and taking a towel with him into the master bathroom. The sound of running water filled the condo and it lasted for 20 minutes until the door opened and steamed seeped out of the little room.

Victory was so excited that she ate not one bowl, but two bowls of Cheerios, and then she could hear her father come down the stairs and she ran to hug him in this ironed, clean uniform.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, sweetheart!" He said as he lifted her up and hugged her. He put her down with a bit of breath gone and asked, "Ate breakfast?"

Victory nodded with gleaming baby-blue eyes.

"Go brush your teeth and we'll go."

She gave another nod and ran up the stairs past Nick. The fox's smile died without his daughter or coffee around and so he went to go make a cup to go. At last, Victoria was ready with a blue, zebra-striped backpack on her shoulders and Nick had his coffee in hand and sunglasses over his eyes.

Judy walked out with them and locked the door as they walked on. She called goodbye and they replied, and the sly bunny got in their cop-car and drove down the street towards the ZPD. Going, going, gone.

Victory and Nick had a fun walk to school! They talked about school and work, and when Nick was heading to his favorite bakery for a blueberry pastry, he told Victoria some stories from being a cop. Her favorite story truly was The Nighthowler Case! It was exciting, thrilling, suspenseful, and it showed how they got to where they are now. Nick told the story all over again and she listened with shining eyes as he ate his breakfast and they headed to school.

They made it to a big building full of children of all sizes and species. Some played basketball and some played four-square on the cement. Most of them were heading inside for class, and the ones remaining were hurrying to finish the game before it was time to go.

Victory took her father by the paw and happily showed him in and down the hall she went every day. They walked into their classroom full of desks that got bigger as you went to the back of the class. The walls and windows were decorated with crafts and projects and cubbies were already filled with lunches and backpacks. Victory put her backpack in the cubby that red "Victoria Wilde" and sat down with her father next to her.

The teacher, a black jaguar named Mrs. Cooper, wore a midnight-blue dress and welcomed them all, and gave a very warm one to Nick and they shook paws as more students and parents came in. Soon the room was full and the bell ringed for class to begin.

Mrs. Cooper welcomed them all and explained that since today was the last day before fall, class would be only a half-day today. They'd start right away and allow each child to introduce their parent to the class. And then, once class was over, children without parents would go to lunch until picked-up and children whose parents came could go home.

And so Mrs. Cooper sat at her desk by the window and looked at her list of students and called out the first student. One by one, students introduced their mom or dad and said what they did, and then left the parent to explain in depth what they did.

They had a mixture of people come in. One female sheep was an opera singer! They also had an elephant accountant, a beaver construction worker, a deer chef, and even a pig firefighter, who bored/traumatized the class by telling the story of how he lost his partner in a burning building.

Nick patiently waited for their turn. Victoria purposely wanted to wait until the end of class; she wanted to save the best for last. After a hippo told about being a dentist, they all clapped again and the two hippos sat down.

Mrs. Cooper glanced at the clock above the front board and said, "Looks like we have just enough time for our last parent." She said pleasantly, glad that it was working out without any problems. The cat looked at the little raccoon by the fox and asked, "Are you ready, Victoria?"

"Yes, Mrs. Cooper." She said politely and stood up with a bounce in her step.

She took Nick by the hand and walked him to the front of the class. He smiled and waited to see what his daughter would say. He'd never say it, but once he was up there, he reminded himself that kids can be brutally honest, and he was a little uneasy at waiting to see what Victory would say.

Victoria took in a deep breath to ease any never she had and said clearly, "This is Nicolas P. Wilde. He's a Night Owl, likes his coffee with two sugars and hazelnut creamer, and always gets blueberry parties for breakfast. He's been in Zootopia his whole life and is married to Judy Wilde."

Nick became aware of his neck feeling tight and he wondered how much more of his personal life little Victory would tell her class.

"He's got the best job in the world!" She said excitedly and Nick felt his back straighten slightly and his neck wasn't so tight. "It's not easy, and it usually keeps him up all night, but he's the best at what he does!"

Nick's stance wasn't much different than when he graduated the ZPD Academy. Prideful, straight back, big smile, puffed-up chest. He smiled and awaited for when Victory would tell them what he does, despite them probably already knowing from his uniform and the news.

"He's my dad!" Victory said happily with her own chest up and Nick felt like a performer on a stage and the script was changed without him knowing. His expression was shock for a moment, but he quickly picked it back up and masked it.

"He adopted me when I was a baby." Victory went on. "He and Momma are awesome! But Nick is special!" She said as she put a kind paw on his arm. "He leaves home every once in a while, but he always comes home and lets me run into him to hug him, even when he's tired. And when he does leave, I know he does it to make Zootopia a better place for me!

"He's really funny, and when I'm sad, he always makes me laugh! He's smart and helps me with my homework if I don't understand it, and he taught me you don't have to be perfect to have a good heart. He's truly shown me anyone can be anything they wanna be, but not because of the city or they wanna.

"He's shown me it's all about how hard you work for it, and what you're willing to do! He's the bravest man I know, because he took on the biggest burden he'd ever have to shoulder, but he knows it's worthwhile! And it is for me, too!"

Nick merely stood in shock and with his eyes stinging. He desperately wished she was done, because he did NOT need to tear up in front of a class and their parents, especially in uniform!

But no! She had more to say! "He's my daddy, and whenever I hear a story, I'm proud to be his missing Wilde found! He knows how I like to be tucked in, he knows when I'm sad when I try to hide it, and he knows all my tickle spots!

"But that's not why he's the best daddy. He's the best because he loves me, and that's why he knows so much about me! He loves me so much he works where he could get hurt, and sometimes I'm scared to see him go, but he always comes home, and always will!" Victory paused to give the stunned fox a quick hug and concluded, "Nick Wilde is my hero. He's the best at what he does, and that's being my daddy!"

Nick's heart was soaring and he felt close to tears. He can remember the fear he had of letting her down and not being a good father, but to know how Victory, his very own little Victory loved him so much, was making him crumble. Thank God, the bell rang and everyone was shaken out of their thoughts from what Victory said.

"Well," Mrs. Cooper said and stood up as students from other classes walked happily in the halls. "Thank you so much to all the parents who came! Maybe some of you know what you wanna be when you grow up! If I call out your name, please stay in here for a minute, the rest of you may go."

And then she called out a list of names of kids whose parents came for the special day. The parents and children started to leave, and Victory went to grab her backpack. Nick could hardly feel his feet, so he stayed where he stood.

Kids were already running up to Victory and asking questions.

"I thought your daddy was a cop?"

"He is." Victory answered. "But being a daddy's cooler!"

"That IS cool!" A little boy said. "Maybe I'LL be a daddy when I grow up!"

"I always wanted to be a mommy" A female sheep peeped in.

"Cool!"

"Does he stay up late ALL the time?"

"Is his tail as soft as it looks? It looks fluffy!"

"I think it's cute!"

"My mommy doesn't like that word."

More questions came and Victory answered them unshamefully. She did look like in a hurry to leave, wanting to be with Nick. She finally managed to wiggle out of the crowd and towards the fox and Mrs. Cooper told the other kids to line up for lunch.

They obeyed and kept looking back at the cool fox in the police uniform. The big door was crowded so Mrs. Cooper led them out and then the Wildes were free to go. Victory grabbed her father by the paw and walked them down the hall.

As Nick walked, his head started to clear and his building tears stopped production. He looked down at his little girl and said,

"That was quite the speech, sweetheart."

Victory looked up at him with the biggest smile and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, Short-Stuff." He said and ruffled the top of her head with his free paw. "That was real sweet of you to say all that stuff about your old man."

"But you're not old!" Victory defended.

Nick laughed and said, "It's just a saying, Victory."

"Oh." The little raccoon said, and then smiled again. "I meant every word!"

"I know you did." He said and landed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm proud of you, sweetheart."

"I'm proud of you, too." She replied.

They walked out into the warm autumn sun and saw students playing or eating with teachers shadowing them. Nick walked his daughter out and down the sidewalk.

"Are we going home?" Victory asked.

"No," Nick said with a sly smile. "We're heading to the ZPD to give Mommy some lunch."

Victory cheered and did a little skip on the safe pavement. This day got that much better for the little raccoon! Not only did she get to show her classmates the coolest person on the planet, she now got to visit the ZPD again! Together, they walked in Zootopia for Sub-Street to pick up lunch. As they did, the talked pleasantly about the day ahead of them.

"Will I get to sit in the spin-y chair?"

"Sure."

"And wear the cool vest?"

"Maybe."

"And will Ben give me a lolly?"

"If you eat your lunch and he offers. Don't ask for one!"


End file.
